Method for folding incontinence pads

ABSTRACT

A method including folding incontinence pads which have a substantially rectangular shape, elongate according to a longitudinal axis, and including a central absorbent pad and a perimetric edge. The method includes folding parts of the edge onto a central portion of the absorbent pad, folding a first end portion of the incontinence pad about a first fold line onto the central portion and a subsequent step of folding, about a second fold line a second end portion onto the first portion. The fold lines which are transversal to the longitudinal axis and define the central portion are spaced by a stretch which is greater than or equal to the longitudinal dimension of the first end portion. The folding step is preceded by a step of folding down inwards onto the central portion segments of the edge which lie between the first and second fold lines, and a step of retaining said segments of the edge on the central portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a §371 National Stage Application of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/IB2011/052279 filed on May 25, 2011,which claims priority to Italian Patent Application No. B02010A000378filed on Jun. 15, 2010, both of which are incorporated herein in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to a method for folding incontinence pads.

In particular, but without limiting the scope of the invention, thismethod can be applied for folding feminine light incontinence pads.

BACKGROUND

As is known, incontinence pads of the above-mentioned type have asubstantially rectangular shape and include two sheets, one impermeable,the other absorbent, between which a section of padding is interposed,the padding made of absorbent material having a predetermined thickness.

At the outline of the incontinence pad, the two superposed sheets definea perimetric edge with a predetermined width.

The two longitudinal sides of the edge, at their central zone, have anelasticised segment.

As is known, machines for packaging incontinence pads of theabove-mentioned type include a unit which folds them, about two foldlines which are transversal to their longitudinal axis, into threeparts, respectively forming a front portion, a central portion and arear portion of the incontinence pad.

Incontinence pads folded in this way into three superposed portions arethen inserted individually or in groups in a wrapper by a further unitof the packaging machine.

It is also known that incontinence pads should have an anatomical shape.

That means that when the packaging of each incontinence pads is opened,the incontinence pads adopts a “V”- or “L”-shaped partly bentconfiguration, in which the front and rear portions, on the inner faceside formed by the absorbent sheet, are facing each other in a positionin which they are near and not coplanar, and in which the edges at onlythe elasticised central portion are folded towards each other, also onthe side forming the inner face.

Said anatomical shape is difficult to obtain using the prior art foldingunits.

Consequently, at the moment of opening, the incontinence pad issubstantially flat, or in any case is not positioned in an anatomicallysatisfactory way, but rather has unwanted fold lines.

SUMMARY

It is desired to provide a folding method which allows the obtainment ofincontinence pads of the type described, which can adopt theabove-mentioned anatomical shape after the folding operation and at themoment they are used.

It is also desired to provide a folding method according to which thefolded incontinence pads have an optimum reduction in their dimensions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of embodiments of the invention are moreapparent in the description which follows of a preferred non-limitingembodiment of a method for folding incontinence pads, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a unit for folding incontinence padsfor implementing the method according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an incontinence pad processed by theunit of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are perspective views of successive steps offolding the incontinence pad of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral 1 denotes, by way ofexample only to allow a better interpretation of the folding methoddescribed below, a machine for packaging incontinence pads, including aunit 2 for folding incontinence pads 3, supported by a vertical wall 4.

The packaging machine 1 includes a feed unit 5 and a user unit,schematically illustrated as a block 6, interposed between which thereis the folding unit 2 operating on the incontinence pads 3 during theirtransfer by conveyor means which for example consist of a drum 7.

The drum 7 rotates continuously anti-clockwise in the directionindicated by the arrow F about an axis 7 a which is at a right angle tothe wall 4.

Also with reference to FIG. 2, the incontinence pads 3 have asubstantially rectangular shape, elongate according to a longitudinalaxis A and include a section of padding or absorbent pad 8 which isclosed between a sheet 9 of impermeable material (for example,polyethylene) which forms the outer face, labelled 3 a, of theincontinence pad 3, and a sheet 10 of permeable material (for examplenon-woven material) which forms the inner face, labelled 3 b, of theincontinence pad 3.

Along the outline of the incontinence pad 3 the two sheets 9 and 10 aresealed directly to each other, in such a way as to form around theabsorbent pad 8 a perimetric edge 11 with predetermined width.

The numeral 12 denotes the two longitudinal segments of the edge 11extending from the respective sides, labelled 13, of the absorbent pad8.

The incontinence pads 3, angled with the axis A transversal to the axis7 a, are therefore transferred by the drum 7 in the direction indicatedby the arrow F.

As will be illustrated below, the method includes a step of folding theincontinence pad 3, about fold lines 14 and 15 transversal to the axisA, into three portions, hereinafter referred to respectively as the rearportion or first end portion 16, the central portion 17 and the frontportion or second end portion 18 of the incontinence pad 3.

It should be noticed that the term “central portion 17” refers to anintermediate portion of the incontinence pad 3, substantially cantered,but not necessarily precisely centred, between the end portions 16 and18.

The two longitudinal segments 12 of the perimetric edge 11, at least atthe central portion 17, include an elasticised part 19.

The presence of the elasticised parts 19 means that, when the packagingis opened, the rear portion 16 of the incontinence pad 3 adopts apredetermined angle relative to the central portion 17, such that itgives the incontinence pad 3 an anatomical shape.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a first step of the folding method includesfolding the elasticised parts 19 of the two longitudinal segments 12 ofthe edge 11 until they are in contact with the central portion 17.

In that condition the transversal dimension, labelled D2, of theincontinence pad 3, at the intermediate position of the central portion17 and between the two folded elasticised parts 19, is preferablybetween 35 and 70 mm.

The first step, which gives the incontinence pad 3 a substantiallyhourglass shape, is followed by a step of securing the elasticised parts19 which were folded down inwards.

Said securing step continues at least until a first sub-step,illustrated in FIG. 4, of the step of folding the incontinence pad 3about the fold lines 14 and 15.

During said sub-step the portion 16, which, for example, in use formsthe rear portion of the incontinence pad 3, is folded about the foldline 14 until it is in contact with the central portion 17.

Then, in a further sub-step, illustrated in FIG. 5, of the same foldingstep, the portion 18, which, for example, in use forms the front portionof the incontinence pad 3, is folded about the fold line 15 until it isin contact with the portion 16, already folded.

It should be noticed that there is no difference if the front portionbecomes the portion labelled 16 and, consequently, the rear portionbecomes the one labelled 18.

The fold line 15 about which the front portion 18 rotates is separatedfrom the fold line 14 by a stretch equal to or greater than thelongitudinal dimension, labelled D, of the rear portion 16.

The distance between the fold lines 14 and 15, labelled D1, ispreferably between 60 and 150 mm and is at least equal to one third ofthe longitudinal dimension of the incontinence pad 3. In other words, D1may be equal to or greater than one third of the length of theincontinence pad 3.

That prevents folding of the front portion 18 from causing an unwantedfolding of an end stretch of the rear portion 16.

It should be noticed that, after the two elasticised parts 19 have beenfolded down inwards onto the central portion 17, the two ends of thelongitudinal segments 12, respectively labelled 12 a and 12 b, extend,in a wing-like fashion, respectively from the two portions 16 and 18.

After the sub-step of folding the front portion 18 towards the centralportion 17 until it is superposed on the portion 16 which was previouslyfolded into contact with the central portion 17, the ends or wings 12 aand 12 b are superposed.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a subsequent and final folding step includesfolding down inwards the wings 12 a and 12 b of the first end portion 16and of the second end portion 18 about the portion 16 towards therespective sides of the central portion 17 of the incontinence pad 3,preferably until they make contact with the sides 13 of the absorbentpad 8.

That produces precise folding of the incontinence pad 3, which, unlikewhat happens with the prior art methods, adopts its minimum overalldimensions and can be subjected to subsequent wrapping operations,either individually or in groups, by the user unit 6, without thecreation of unwanted folds and deformations.

1. A method for folding incontinence pads having a substantiallyrectangular shape, elongate according to a longitudinal axis, andcomprising a central absorbent pad and a perimetric edge, the methodcomprising folding each incontinence pad at a first and a second foldline both transversal to the axis, the folding step comprising a firstsub-step of folding a first end portion of the incontinence pad aboutthe first fold line onto a central portion of the incontinence pad, anda second sub-step of folding a second end portion of the incontinencepad about the second fold line (15) onto the first end portion, whereinthe distance between the first and second fold lines, measured along thelongitudinal axis of the incontinence pad is greater than or equal tothe longitudinal dimension of the first end portion, and wherein thefolding step is preceded by a step in which segments of the edge locatedbetween the first and second fold lines are folded down inwards onto thecentral portion, and a step in which the segments are retained on thecentral portion.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein theretaining step continues at least until the end of the first foldingsub-step.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distancebetween the first and second fold lines is equal at least to one thirdof the longitudinal dimension of the entire incontinence pad.
 4. Themethod according to claim 3, wherein the distance between the first andsecond fold lines is between 60 and 150 mm.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein, once folded down inwards onto the central portion, thesegments of the edge between the first and second fold lines, areseparated from each another in a direction at a right angle to thelongitudinal axis of the incontinence pad by a distance of between 35and 70 mm.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first endportion of the incontinence pad constitutes, in use, the front portionof the incontinence pad.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein thefirst end portion of the incontinence pad constitutes, in use, the rearportion of the incontinence pad.
 8. The method according to claim 1,wherein the second folding sub-step is followed by a step of folding thesides of the first end portion and of the second end portion around thefirst end portion and towards the respective sides of the centralportion of the incontinence pad.
 9. The method according to claim 1,wherein the second folding sub-step is followed by a step of folding thesides of the first end portion and of the second end portion around thefirst end portion until they are superposed on the sides of the centralportion of the incontinence pad.